Don't let it get away!

Have you ever considered becoming a chef, or getting into desktop publishing? If so, forget it. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, these occupations are on their way out, with the number of jobs being created and prospects for growth over the next few years standing at just about nil.

Knowing which job sectors are declining is just as important as being aware of which ones are growing, since neither is particularly intuitive. Here are three jobs you may not suspect are on the decline. So, if you are planning a career change or are just starting out, you would be well served to steer clear of these particular occupations, despite their attractive pay scales.

The median pay presented for each position below represents 2010 wage levels.

Aerospace Engineering and Operations TechniciansConsidering aerospace engineering and operations technicians are instrumental in the development of new aircraft, it is surprising that these jobs are in decline. These technical employees can work in offices, laboratories, or industrial factories, and are employed mostly by the aerospace industry, which includes employers that are large government contractors.

As of 2010, many companies required an associate's degree for entry into the field, but the median pay of $58,000 is pretty respectable for only two years of college. Unfortunately, job growth in this sector is in negative territory, with a loss of 100 jobs expected by 2020.

Claims Adjusters, Appraisers, Examiners, and InvestigatorsAs these job titles suggest, this work involves the settlement of insurance claims. These people may work for a myriad of insurers, or they can be self-employed. Sometimes, independent contractors are hired by those who prefer an impartial evaluation on their claim.

Most appraisers work for auto insurers, while adjusters may inspect real estate property as well as vehicles. Examiners make sure claims are filed correctly and lend their expertise to adjusters when questions arise. Investigators get into the nitty-gritty of a case, usually after the insurer has flagged it as fraudulent in some way.

Though there seems no shortage of insurance companies or claims, these jobs have seen slow growth over the past few years, and the occupational sector is expected to expand by only 3% by 2020. The pay is quite good, at a median $58,460 annually. While there are no official educational requirements, there has been a tendency over the past few years to give those with a four-year degree or some level of work experience preference in hiring.

Compensation and Benefits ManagersThis job class is also on the decline, with a projected growth rate of 3% until 2020. Compensation and benefits managers are involved in every aspect of a company's employee benefit plans, including pay, retirement, and health insurance. These positions require a bachelor's degree or higher for entry, but the median pay is impressive -- more than $89,000 per year -- though they often work long hours.

These employees work in all industries and, with the evolving nature of employee benefit plans, I would expect this sector to be expanding. But BLS notes that outsourcing of this type of work has made jobs scarcer and will continue to put the squeeze on the number of available positions.

Researching career moves is more important than ever these days, with unemployment still elevated from the Great Recession, and the cost of college rising each year. Perform your due diligence, knowing that aligning your goals with the reality of the employment marketplace will almost certainly result in a more satisfying, and lucrative, working career.

How much do you know about the U.S. debt?The U.S. government has piled on more than $10 trillion of new debt since 2000. Annual deficits topped $1 trillion after the financial crisis. Millions of Americans have asked: What the heck is going on?

The Motley Fool's new free report, "Everything You Need to Know About the National Debt," walks you through with step-by-step explanations about how the government spends your money, where it gets tax revenue from, the future of spending, and what a $16 trillion debt means for our future. Click here to read the full report!

Comments from our Foolish Readers

Help us keep this a respectfully Foolish area! This is a place for our readers to discuss, debate, and learn more about the Foolish investing topic you read about above. Help us keep it clean and safe. If you believe a comment is abusive or otherwise violates our Fool's Rules, please report it via the Report this Comment icon found on every comment.

I really can''t believe what I just read. With the job market as tight as it is people would take a job separating different colored paper clips is it payed the mortgage and fed the family. There is no law forcing an individual to remain in a dead end job. One may always improve their way of life and change careers if the oportunity presents itself.

I have IVY league degree and have been considering working at a &^%^^ing OFFICE MAX so awesome advice you idiots..for crying out loud..any job with pay is better than NO JOB with NO PAY..what PLANET are you living on? Testalamerdas.

Airspace technicians? Sure, I believe it. With the airforce being the only combat worthy part of the US armed forces, and the country's engagement into more and more wars, with the nuclear world war not being that distant, airspace technician would be a very popular occupation.

I have been in the aerospace engineering /inspection sector for nearly 15 years. A few years back I watched as everyone I knew in the real estate, banking, and construction industries lost their jobs. I'm still here cranking out aircraft parts.

With the rise of private aerospace companies like SpaceX, and the trend of more and more manufacturing coming back to the U.S., degreed engineers and sharp, certified technicians have a bright, stable future. This is completely contrary to this article, but I actually work in this field. You decide who has the accurate projection for yourself.

Perhaps this writer should try to educate himself before he writes an article. Just last year the government released a report saying that there was a shortage of over 200,000 insurance adjusters in the field and that it was expected to have growth larger than the average profession and due to the loss of adjusters to retirement and the lack of new adjusters entering the field that the demand would continue to grow much quicker than normal. Also the VA offered special funding to veterans that wanted to go into that field and obtain that license placing it 3rd on the list of critical jobs and offering to pay for the certification from authorized schools through the VAVR program. Really stop writing garbage and try something truthful.

P.S. - I've never seen an Associates Degree in any engineering discipline. The minimum to get hired as an engineer today is a Bachelors Degree (Aerospace, Civil, Mechanical, etc), with the trend leaning heavily towards those with a Masters.

It's not a 4 year program either. Engineering programs are heavily saturated with higher math and physics. Typical completion time is more like 5 to 6 years for a Bachelors.

Those students that can't cut it in Engineering then become Business Majors / Financial Analysts / Speculative Blog Writers.

With Aerospace Engineering, I don't know if the author considered the fact that the industry has vast numbers of employees eligible or nearly eligible for retirement, due to the timing of past waves of hiring. Most of them are just waiting to be eligible for Medicare.

First, the article is basically a regurgitation of the BLS website (which the author does mention in the first paragraph) even down to the data of (-100 jobs). So perhaps the GOVERNMENT needs to redo some of their own research since the Insurance Adjuster is on their list for a decline in job growth. The 200,000 insurance jobs are most likely health related (not auto or real estate as mentioned in the article). And the the job- Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technician- is NOT for an Engineer but a TECHNICIAN, which is why an Associate's degree is listed under this job. Yes, pretty much a fluff piece as there were about 15 other careers listed she could have randomly chosen but those are the stats as researched by our government.

To the writer of this article... you wrote "with a loss of 100 jobs expected by 2020" in Aerospace. 100 jobs losses in 7 years is not bad. Assuming this is mistake. However I believe your researched is flawed, unless you are considering the new Immigration Bill allowing over 250K per year in the country, which will surely drive lower wages in high tech fields over time. But as one writer stated over 50% of the Aerospace workforce is due to retire in the 10 - 15 years, compound this with an existing shortage of skilled workers, there will be plenty of jobs in the field for decades to come.

For years Montley Fool has listed a number of jobs not to go in or which jobs are growing. There is one job they fail to take into account that is becoming harder to enter each year: education.

I'm a math teacher by profession, having taught for over six years in the Chicago area. Each year the school districts are laying off more and more teachers due to budget cuts, reduced enrollments, and performances. Forget about finding a position out in the suburbs. For every position that opens up, 100s-1000s of applicants submit their resumes, even in the math and science fields. It is even worse in the other fields. When it comes down the elementary education field your chances of getting hired are better based on who you versus your experience or where you got your degree. For every opening in elementary education out in the suburbs you can easily expect a minimum of a 1000+ applicants.

In the past the best route was to apply for positions in the city of Chicago itself but the opportunity is becoming harder to do each each. Chicago use to have 3-4 job fairs every year, they haven't had a single job fair in the last four years. Their new website makes it even harder for experienced teachers to even apply. In the past you could contact the principal or school and submit your resume. Now principals can only select candidates from a selected pool of candidates.

In the last 10+ years over 60% of the traditional high schools and about 30-40% of the elementary schools (K-8) have been converted into charter schools. These schools barely offer a living wage for teachers with experience and much less than those with no experience at all. These schools live and die if they can't get enough students in their program. A principal with hire you with hope and expectation only to let you go within a month if they fail to achieve their necessary attendance.

If a major metro area is having a major problem with more teachers then positions I can only imagine it is even worse for other areas. Education is not all that assured any more. That is never discussed on this site.

I've been a claims adjuster for 35 years, and it's not an easy career field by any means.

There's an abundance of Government oversight; state licensing; internal and external auditors; obnoxious attorneys who will call you every name in the book and sue you; insureds and claimants who will try every scam known to man and then some to finds ways of getting more than the claim is worth.

This is an industry rampant with fraud and very few effective ways to deter it. And, continuing education is required in order to maintain your license.

But, there's that good feeling you get too when the insured say's thank you. Or when the claimant say's they appreciate your concern and all of your help in getting them back on their feet and made whole for their loss.

Long hours, endless miles in a car, working in inclement weather, bug bites, snakes, sunburn and what have you. All a part of what we do.

Love it, and it can be a very rewarding, and well paying career, if you have motivation and are a leader.

Hate it, get out as soon as you can and find some place else to be miserable.

Do you think being a public insurance adjuster in Philadelphia PA (http://citiwideadjusters.com) would be a dead-end job, too, despite the decent pay? I want to be able to move up in a career, you know?